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Peters, Rider receive Faculty Distinguished Service Award

Two Indiana State University educators have received the 2013 Faculty Distinguished Service Award in recognition of outstanding contributions outside the classroom.

The awards were presented Thursday (April 26) to Randy Peters, associate professor of applied engineering and technology management, and Ann Rider, associate professor of German and women's studies.

An Indiana State faculty member for 10 years, Peters has been involved in university service via the Faculty Senate and Foundational Studies Council. His professional involvement includes the Association of Technology Management and Applied Engineering, which he has served as division president. He is a visiting team chair for accreditation and as a peer reviewer for the organization's professional journal.

His community service includes the Parke County 4-H program and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, where he held the post of president for three years. As faculty advisor to the student chapter of the Society of Automotive Engineers, he has guided students on successful projects including developing car shows, building and racing a hovercraft, and rebuilding an antique sports car.

In 2006, Peters conceived and developed Team Sycamore Racing, a student-run drag racing business, and he has helped raise funds for the team. The team has achieved many victories including the 2011 championship at the local drag racing facility, where Peters is part of the management team and employs several ISU students. As a result of publicity surrounding Team Sycamore, several students from across the nation and from other countries have chosen ISU to pursue their education, Peters said.

"I am driven by my interests in automobiles, drag racing, education, and management. Receiving this recognition for doing the things that I am so passionate about is very humbling and gratifying," he said. "There are many deserving faculty members at ISU and I consider it an honor to be associated with those who have previously received this award."

Rider joined what is now department of languages, literatures, and linguistics in 1992. The department is among the most interdisciplinary at the university with faculty in Arabic, Chinese, classics, French, German, Latin, linguistics, English as a second language, Japanese and Spanish. Under the direction of former chair Ronald W. Dunbar the department made innovative revisions to its curricular programs that have made them national models of interdisciplinary language studies, she said.

The department has been an integral part of the General Education and new Foundational Studies programs, designing innovative courses to meet and assess programmatic outcomes. These revisions have received national attention. With more than 100 first majors, and 130 minors, members of the department are able to provide quality advising and a dynamic, learning-centered environment for its students, she said.Department members are also active in the interdisciplinary initiatives in the College of Arts and Sciences, with members taking leadership roles in women's studies, international studies and liberal studies as well as administrative roles in interdisciplinary programs.

Department members are integral to teacher education, graduate studies, study abroad, international student organizations, and women's equality initiatives, as well as to faculty governance at the college and university levels.

"Across campus my department is known for its collegiality and work ethic," Rider said. "There is little more satisfying to me than working as a member of this community. It is honorable work, and I am humbled by the recognition."

Rider has been a member of the board of directors of Terre Haute's CANDLES Holocaust Museum and Education Center since 2003. She received the museum's Eternal Light Award in 2012.

Story Highlights

Randy Peters, associate professor of applied engineering and technology management, and Ann Rider, associate professor of German and women's studies, were recognized for outstanding contributions outside the classroom.